Chinese NewNew Shipping Line To Expand Arctic Container Service After Profitable 2024 Operation

Chinese box carrier NewNew Shipping Line has announced the expansion of its Arctic service for 2025. At the first-ever Russian-Chinese logistics conference “#Containers” held in Moscow last week, NewNew Shipping provided a summary of its Arctic liner service and detailed plans for the current year. During last year’s breakout Arctic shipping season the company completed thirteen voyages between Shanghai and Arkhangelsk carrying more than 20,000 TEU. For 2025 NewNew Shipping will deploy larger box carriers along the “Arctic Express No. 1” service. Last year the company provided transit service via the Northern Sea Route, Russia’s main Arctic shipping route, between Shanghai, China and Arkhangelsk, in the Russian Arctic. Chinese operations drove a 10-fold increase of containerized cargo volume at the port last year. Early onset of sea ice in the Chukchi Sea in mid October cut the season short by about six weeks compared to previous years. In 2023 the company completed seven voyages between July and December carrying around 9,500 TEU. That summer the operator’s Arctic service did not transpire without controversy as one of its vessels, NewNew Polar Bear, was suspected of damaging the Balticconnector pipeline by dragging its anchor across the sea floor.  Within a few years the operator expects to expand the navigation window into June and December with the launch of five dedicated ice-capable container ships. The vessels are currently under construction at a Chinese yard, a company representative stated at the Moscow logistics conference last week. NewNew Shipping also stated that its 2024 operations in the Arctic were profitable.  A second Arctic container shipping operator, EZ Safetrans Logistics, has not yet announced its plans for 2025. Safetrans Line made headlines last year by dispatching the first-ever Panamax container vessel into the Arctic, including an encounter by two container ships just 750 nautical miles from